Canadiens continue Western Canada swing against Oilers, McDavid

Despite suffering their first loss of the season, the Montreal Canadiens remain the NHL's hottest team as they visit the Edmonton Oilers Thursday night (9 p.m. ET) at Rexall Place.

The game features the top team in the standings against the league's brightest young talent.

The Canadiens, in the midst of a three-game Western Canada road swing, opened the season with nine straight victories, the best start in franchise history. Montreal fell one game shy of the league record set by the 1993-94 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres after losing 5-1 to the Vancouver Canucks on Monday.

While Montreal captain Max Pacioretty said the team was not feeling the pressure of tying the record, forward Brendan Gallagher said positives came out of the loss.

"I think this is maybe what we needed," Gallagher told the team's official website of the Habs' defeat. "We need to get better. We took a step back, but it doesn't mean that we'll have any trouble re-focusing and getting ready for the next one."

The Oilers are suffering through another brutal start, losing their third straight game on Tuesday with a 4-3 defeat to Minnesota. But the loses haven't hurt the surge by No. 1 overall pick Connor McDavid.

The young star earned an assist in Tuesday's loss to extend his point streak to six games. He also leads the Oilers in scoring with 10 points.

The matchup

Montreal Canadiens (9-1-0): After yielding only six goals in his first six starts, goaltender Carey Price has been beaten eight times in his last two outings and could give way to rookie Mike Condon with Montreal facing back-to-back games against Edmonton and Calgary. Defenceman Jeff Petry, who played his first 4½ seasons with Edmonton before he was dealt to the Canadiens at the trade deadline last season, will be facing his former team for the first time. "It's going to be good to go back into that building, but I'm going to approach it like any other game," Petry said.

Edmonton Oilers (3-7-0): In the loss to Minnesota, rookie defenceman Darnell Nurse registered his first career goal while subbing for an injured Justin Schultz. Nail Yakupov also ran his point streak to a career-best six games, but Edmonton coach Todd McLellan is more concerned with his team's play at the other end of the ice after the Oilers allowed 14 goals in the last three games. "The real preventable [goals] are the ones that are killing us right now," McLellan said.

Overtime

• Pacioretty has scored five goals in eight games versus the Oilers.
• Edmonton placed Schultz and F Rob Klinkhammer on injured reserve and recalled D Joey LaLeggia, C Leon Draisaitl and F Tyler Pitlick from Bakersfield of the American Hockey League.
• Condon has allowed three goals in winning both of his starts — each on the road.